


Redemption - Mercykill

by LunaDarkHuntress



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Mercy is done with shit, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Brainwashing, Post-Fall of Overwatch, Pre-Recall, mercykill-freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2021-01-26 04:29:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21368203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaDarkHuntress/pseuds/LunaDarkHuntress
Summary: Reaper is sent on assignment by Talon to protect a scientist they claim to be an asset as well as his daughter, and meets someone from his past he didn't expect to find. Set between the fall of Overwatch and the Recall. I suck at summaries. More info in notes.
Relationships: Reaper | Gabriel Reyes/Angela "Mercy" Ziegler
Comments: 5
Kudos: 20





	1. One-sided Reunions

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fanfic I've written and published in over a decade. I recently started shipping a pair in Overwatch, and this idea wouldn't leave me alone. For those who know a bit of lore, it follows along the lines of what happened with Widowmaker, Reaper was also brainwashed by Talon and lead to believe that the reason for his condition was Mercy's fault. This will be a Mercykill (ReaperxMercy) fic, though I will likely adjust Reaper's age down a bit to make the gap not quite so large (though honestly their both adults either way). Also, in later chapters this fic will turn dark and have some triggers, but I will try and warn of those in the description.

Reaper growled softly as he sat in the passenger seat of the truck as the driver took them through the dense forest. He couldn’t believe the boss relegated him to being a guard dog for an old scientist and his daughter. Granted the scientist could be a valuable asset to Talon, and his daughter as well from what little the boss told him, but he was an assassin for fuck's sake not a bodyguard. He shook his head and sighed, watching the wilderness pass him by as the nervous flunky drove. It looked rather peaceful if you didn’t count all the traffic on the old logging road. Apparently it was the middle of hunting season and the scientist and his daughter were up in these hills hunting.

In another life he remembered a certain petite blond telling him stories of hunting with her father as the two of them were curled up on a sofa under a mound of blankets while the snow fell outside. Talon had conditioned most of his memories away, or rather Moria had at the Boss’s behest, to make him more obedient and more willing to go after his old comrades. They fed him lies that he believed for years until one day the conditioning broke after getting pelted by a certain guardian angel’s blaster. Talon had made him believe that she was the reason he was in this state, but now he knew the truth. 

The driver turned down a newer gravel road in a logged off area where two other trucks were parked. Reaper saw two men in hunting gear chatting by the furthest pick up, one he recognized as being Doctor Zig, the scientist Talon charged him to protect. Scanning the area he didn’t see his daughter that was supposed to be with him, odd. Getting out of the truck and grabbing his bag he approached the two men who had stopped to look at him, his ride backing up and taking off as his job was done.

“Doc Zig?”

“Ah, you must be the bodyguard sent by the company, Hello. My name is Alphons, or Al for short.”

Reaper nodded, finding it almost funny that this guy shared the name of Angela’s father, but it couldn’t be him, wrong country and from reports, her father was dead. “Reaper. Where is your daughter?”

No sooner the words left his mouth than a pebble ricocheted off the right side of his mask. Spinning in the direction, but he didn’t see anything at first. Then slowly a shape detached from an old stump next to a log pile and approached. The girl was heavily layered against the cold and very well-camouflaged considering he hadn’t spotted her or even sensed her. Her hair was hidden by a cap and hood from one of the coats she wore and most of her face was covered by a lower face mask. Still, she was oddly familiar as she stared at him through yellow, high contrast, sunglasses with a weary but unafraid gaze.

She kept her gaze locked with his for several moments before turning and looking at her father who was saying goodbye to his friend and heading back to their truck she gave a nod to her father before opening the door and climbing up into the rig and taking the rather nice looking Henry rifle from her dad after he unloaded it.

Reaper observed this from behind his mask before opening the rear door behind the girl and tossing his bag in before climbing in behind the silent girl. Al slowly backed the truck up to the other road and then heading out to the main logging road.

Reaper was half bored for the next hour as they hunted several spots, the strangely familiar girl disappearing into the woods. It was rather entertaining to try to spot the girl through the heavy brush.

“Ange! Its last shot! Time to go.”

Reaper watched the area that he swore she was in only to hear her call out from the other side of the road. He jolted when he recognized her voice, it was his Angela...his Mercy. He then realized this assignment was no accident, that one of two things were going on. Either they suspected the break in his conditioning and were placing in his way the one person he should be the most bloodthirsty for in his path as a test, or Sombra, that mischievous Latina hacker, knew what was going on with him and was laying a gift at his feet for not ratting her out after Volskaya. He could only pray it was the latter, otherwise he wasn’t the only one that would be killed. Gabriel sat silently as Angela climbed into the truck’s driver seat while her father got in the passenger. 

Angela drove carefully back to the main road, cursing at some of the idiot hunters and how fast they flew down these roads, especially with the recent snow. She kept her attention divided between the old gravel road and the looming shadow in the back seat. Her hand twitched against the steering wheel, trying to resist the urge to reach for the locket around her neck for comfort, buried under layers of clothes and warm against her skin. The locket was her most treasured possession, given to her by the man who once held her heart, and held her two favorite pictures of her and said man.

She got them back safely to the main road and on their way back to the house. So far the Reaper had been quiet, though she could feel his heavy gaze on her near constantly. She was thankful that between her experience hunting as well as some training she received from Gabriel years ago, she had learned to disappear into her surroundings when she wanted to thus getting a reprieve from the stare. Pulling into her and her father’s house and turning off the truck she got out and headed to the door to unlock and disable the security system before the two men got to the porch. As the two entered and Reaper looked around, Angela started taking off her hunting gear, leaving herself in a pair of black leggings and the comfortable hoodie she snatched from Gabriel when they were together that she had managed to save after the explosion at the Swiss base. One emblazoned with the Blackwatch logo on the back along with Gabriel’s last name. While she rarely wore it outside of the house, the area was going through a major cold snap and Gabriel's hoodie never failed to keep her toasty.

She nodded to her father when he asked her to show Reaper to the spare bedroom. She looked at the imposing figure and motioned for him to follow her. The spare room was directly next to hers. She was nervous about having him basically between her and her father, though she guessed that she should probably be more worried about herself since he is well-known for taking out former overwatch agents. She vividly remembers her last encounter with him, the immense rage directed at her. This time is strangely different, she doesn't sense any of the rage. She opens the door to the 3rd bedroom, "Here you go...give me a few minutes and I will remove the VR equipment. The bathroom is directly across the hall." She stepped away from the door and opened the one to her room and stepped in.

Reaper glanced into her room and almost chuckled at the state of it, so similar to how it was when they were first together. For as neat as her lab and office was, her bedroom was always utter chaos. One thing he did spot that he thought odd were a few empty packages of Oreos on her desk. He remembered Oreos were the comfort food she turned to to ease her grief on a yearly basis, usually because of the death of her mother. But it was the wrong time of the year for when she usually had them. He wished he could ask her, maybe one day when Talon wasn't watching his moves...or rather when he grew his balls back and revealed himself to her. He stepped into the room he had been given and looked around. It was cozy, if a bit cluttered by the VR set up. He set his bag down and sighs, he supposed he should familiarize himself with the layout of the house and property so he could better protect both of them. He stalked out of the room and towards the front door, grumbling to Angela that he was going to take a look around as he passed by her. Maybe a walk would clear his head.

Angela watches him go out the front door and shakes her head before going into his room to remove her VR equipment. Figuring out a way to set it up in her room so she could continue her work was going to be a pain in the ass. She sighed and carefully moved everything into her room, deciding half-way through that she would need to rearrange, and clean her room in order to set up an effective space. Putting on one of her playlists she started to get things cleaned up and in some semblance of order, slightly irritated that her room would have to be her office for a while. She worked well into the night and early morning, trying to be as quiet as possible when her dad went to sleep. She could feel Reaper’s presence but ignored it as she moved her furniture around. She struggled with some of the heavier pieces and was tempted to ask Reaper for some help but didn’t. She managed to move everything around by herself before, and she could do it by herself again. 

When she next looked at the time it was 3 in the morning. Angela sighed, knowing she would have to try to squeeze in a few hours of sleep before work. Looking around to survey what she had done, she felt she made good progress and should be able to finish everything up before she had to go into work. All but collapsing on her bed she wraps herself around her body pillow. As she tries drifts off she thinks back to a happier time of when she would work this late, of how a certain man would come into her lab and bug her to get some sleep. Of how a year later, when they were dating that he wouldn’t even bother her. He would just come in around midnight, pick her up, and carry her back to their bed, wrapping her up in his arms so she couldn’t leave. Angela hugged her pillow tighter and let out a soft sob, she missed him so much. He was the only one who seemed to know how to get her to rest, how to quiet her mind. Sniffling she reached over to her music player and switched it to a special playlist, a playlist HE had made for her, for when he was away on missions and she couldn’t sleep. It was filled with different songs he would sing to her, though she wished he would have been able to record himself singing them. She finally fell asleep almost an hour later, the music still going.

Reaper completed his last sweep of the area for the night and silently slipped inside the house and secured it. As he passed by Angela’s room he froze when he heard the music playing softly. He was slightly amazed she still had it after all these years. Peeking in he saw her wrapped around a black body pillow and from what he could see of her face, she had been crying. Silently as he can he wraith’s into her room and pulls a blanket over her. He pulls his taloned glove off and gently strokes her hair, wishing he could climb in with her and hold her like he used to. He froze when she murmured his name and leaned into his touch, not noticing his hand had drifted from her hair to her cheek. Lifting his mask with his free hand he leans down and whispers in her ear, “Shh, Mi corazón late, sleep…” He pulls back and watches her hug her pillow tighter before slipping out and back to his room.

Note:

Mi corazón late = My heartbeat


	2. Routines and Strange Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is some medical terminology in this chapter. What happened to Angela's father actually happened to my father over a year ago and we nearly lost him.
> 
> Also, knee injuries are no joke, if you think you might have messed something up with yours and the doc isn't listening to your concerns find a new one, don't wait!

Angela groaned as her alarm blared revelry at 6 a.m, she was having such a lovely dream for once too. She was sorely tempted to turn her alarm off and try to go back to the dream, but knew it was likely futile. Still, it had been a very long time since she had a good dream about Gabriel, especially during this time of the year. She missed all the Spanish nicknames he had for her, missed hearing him whispering them in her ear at night when sleep finally claimed her. Last night's dream had been so wonderfully vivid, she could almost still catch his scent, that mix of aged whiskey, gunmetal, and smoke. Still feel him stroking her cheek then whispering for her to sleep...calling her his heartbeat? She didn't remember him calling her that before.

Sighing she turned off the alarm on her phone and rolled out of bed. She had a lot of work to do before going to work. Opening her door she starts her usual morning routine: bathroom, out to the kitchen to get an energy shot and say good morning to her dad, and back to her room. She glances at the closed door to the spare bedroom and idly wonders if Reaper is sleeping before shaking her head and going into her room. Finishing up the rearrangement and setting up her VR equipment only took an hour which left her with 30 minutes to do as she pleased on her computer before she had to get ready to head down to the resort. 

She missed her work in the medical field, but thanks to the unethical scab geneticist of Talon spreading false information, her medical credentials were revoked. Finding any sort of work after all the bad publicity was...difficult. When her father collapsed with cardiogenic shock last year she moved in with him to help keep an eye on him. After things had settled down she was able to find a part-time job at the lakeside resort as a housekeeper, the owners being old friends of her father. She knew they were doing it as a favor to her father, but bringing in some funds was a big morale boost for her. She felt that she proved her worth to them when they chose to keep her on past the busy summer season. Her boss let her work almost as much as she wanted so long as she made good progress on the winter chores. It wasn't easy work, and she desperately misses her old work, but there wasn't much of a choice at the moment. She is jolted back to the present when her alarm chimes 8 a.m., and she calls out to her dad to take his meds. She chuckled softly when he tells her that he took them 5 minutes ago. It was a habit they picked up after his hospitalization to make sure he was taking his meds when he needed to. At first she was also checking to make sure he was taking the correct meds since he would get confused with all the changes they were making at first.

Deciding to do a little VR work before she had to get ready she put on the headset and grabbed her controllers. While this setup wasn't the best since it was rather old in the tech, it was functional and allowed her a good amount of privacy. While she no longer worked in the medical field didn't mean she didn't continue her research and designing of things to help people. "*Guten Morgen*, Jarvis."

'*Guten Morgen*, Mercy. Are we continuing designing on project Seraphim?' Her AI responded through her headset.

"Ja." She responded and quickly typed in a command to switch to German until further notice. She was confident that Reaper didn't speak the language, and the last thing she needed was for Talon to get their slimy hands on one of her special projects. Seraphim was a new version of her Valkyrie suit and caduceus staff, she was also testing a new gun for herself. She didn't like hurting others or causing death, but she realizes now that sometimes it's either killed or be killed.

Working on the finer points of her new gun was a test in tenacity. She had an idea of what she wanted but implementing it was proving to be a challenge. She had been testing the weight and handling of her former teams guns based on specs Winston was able to send her weeks ago. Two-handed guns like Morrison's rifle were out of the question, she needed to still be able to switch fast between her staff and the weapon. She had tested Tracer's guns, but she needed something with more power, or something that would drive an enemy back at the very least. The wing-suit was also getting a major overhaul and hopefully, if the simulations proved promising, the ability for higher altitude flight, and, if she could figure out certain issues, sonic flight. She also wanted to work out a way to be able to shield others, even if it were only a short amount of time.

Before she knew it, her alarm was blaring the tune for her to get ready for work. She instructed Jarvis to run simulation tests on the wing-suit, and once that was done to prep weight and handling tests from Gabriel's gun specs for her to test once she was home for the day. Locking her computer down but leaving it running she stood and stretched, trying to mentally and physically prepare herself for the day.

Gabriel heard Angela's alarm go off a few scant hours after he checked in on her and shook his head. Remembering when he set up that particular alarm on her phone after she slept in too late and needed something that would be sure to wake her. He had heard her father get up the hour prior and go out to the kitchen. Getting up and dressed into some more casual clothes from what he normally wears, and trades his mask for a bandana across the lower part of his face and a hoodie. Stepping out of his room he hears Angela speaking German in her room. Glancing in as he passes he sees Angela with a VR headset on, he guesses she's talking to someone through it. Just as he walks away he catches her say 'Gabriel's Schrotflinte' which he knows her to be talking about his guns. Why would she be talking about them given her previous attitude towards firearms? Greeting Al he quickly tells him he's going for a quick patrol as he steps out into the frigid morning air. 

So far, he hadn't found any indication of anyone watching the house, which was odd if there was a threat against the family. He would have expected to find some sign of the place being cased. By the time he walked back to the house he noticed a blue car he had seen parked next to the truck leave and turn down the road heading away from him. He chuckled when he noticed the license plate read 'HRNVDI3'. Heroes Never Die...fitting, but he wondered where Angela was heading. Heading back inside he internally debated revealing himself to Alphons and telling him the truth. However, not knowing exactly who sent him, or if he was being watched made him hold his tongue. He wished he could suss out who was responsible for sending him to Angela, it would make his way forward easier.

It was a few hours later when Angela returned looking exhausted, not the kind that he was used to seeing from her, but the kind of exhausted that came from a hard day at a job you despise. This was further confirmed by her answer when her father asked her how her day was. "Far less got done thanks to a certain girl dragging her feet, then having to rush towards the end. I feel really old saying this, but I hate working with ingrate kids. Next time I am able to visit HIS grave I'm pouring a full bottle of his favorite whiskey on it as an apology for all the crap I gave him about Jess...I know exactly how he feels now."

It took Gabriel a moment to realize she was talking about him, and he almost let an 'I tried to tell you' slip from his lips, but managed to keep silent at the last moment. He actually wondered how Jesse was doing, if he was still alive. Last he heard he was, just keeping his head low. He frowned when he noticed her favoring her left leg rather heavily.

"Do you have to work with her tomorrow?" Al asked his daughter as he watched her collapse on the far end of the couch from where Reaper was sitting.

"*Nein, Gott sei Dank*. I'm working alone the next few days...not much to do and what there is I can handle myself." Came Angela's tired reply as she curled one leg under her while extending the other out towards Reaper, hoping it wouldn't annoy him. She wished her boss could have kept Kari on for extra help instead of Hope, Kari was a bit older and had a far better work ethic than the high schooler. It was then she noticed the change in Reaper's attire, cocking her head a bit when she got hit with a strong pang of familiarity in what features she could see. Shaking her head a bit and berating herself for seeing her late love in a ruthless killer.

"Would you prefer to scrap going hunting this evening?" Her dad asked softly.

Her attention snapped back to her father, "Bitte. I kind of want to saw my legs off at the knees right now...I think it would hurt less." Angela tried to joke.

Al chuckled softly but looked at his daughter with concern having saw the limp she was sporting when she got out of her car, "Speaking of knees, how's the left?"

"I'm going to have to put the brace back on and start icing it again....popped it bad at work." Came her tired reply. In truth, she had wrenched it badly going down some stairs, re-injuring it, but she didn't want to worry her father.

"You should really go to the doctor, Ang...you might have messed up your ACL again."

"You know what will happen if I try...I'd rather not deal with that again, once was enough. I should be fine with the brace, I just won't be able to go too deep into the woods the rest of the season." Angela replied with a dejected tone. Hunting, bringing down an animal to ensure extra meet in the freezer over the winter, was one of her few escapes, one of the few times she could let go now. Granted she was taking a life, she didn't view it the same as killing a human. However, she would not let the animal needlessly suffer, she would make a clean fast kill, say a prayer of thanks, and ensure that there was as little waste as possible.

"What about Hutch? She should be able to help some..."

Angela shakes her head, "Not yet...besides she is very busy. If it doesn't start getting better in a week, I'll speak to her." She slowly got up and limped towards the hallway, "I'm going to shower then work on something while icing my knee." She didn't wait for a response as she headed to her bathroom, eager to get clean and off her feet. She had hoped her knee wasn't completely messed up since it would not only set back her project but could put her at risk of losing her job. Grabbing some of her lounge clothes, a worn pair of shorts and a loose tank top, she slipped into the bathroom and shut the door.

Al sighed as he watched his daughter disappear into the bathroom, "Forgive me for saying this...but I hope your co-worker Moria dies a horrible death....that...*Schlampe*...nearly destroyed her."

"Moira will get what she deserves in the end....what did she do to her?" Gabriel asked and as Al answered him he became more and more angry with the geneticist. This explained the seemingly strange rise back to prominence in the medical community Moira was enjoying of late. He hadn't heard exactly what happened, too busy to really pay attention, only Moira gloating that she was finally getting what she was due and her criticizers were paying for their stupidity in crossing her.

"I think the worst of it all, is how she is treated when she does go to hospitals now. Be it for herself or with me. About the only doc that is still kind to her is our local one, Doc Hutch...Angie had to fight tooth and nail with the docs to tell her anything when I had my heart issue last year. Look...I know you realize just who she is and who she worked for...but please leave my daughter be...she's been hurt enough by Talon and all but abandoned by Overwatch...she's no threat to you." Al pleaded.

Gabriel's heart tightened at the plea, and he quickly listened for the running water to ensure Angela wouldn't hear them before turning back to Al, "I have no intention of harming Angela, Mr. Ziegler, I intend to protect her from both what is threatening you, and from Talon."

Al looked at him, confused, "Angela told me about the incident a few months ago when you tried to kill her...what caused the change?"

"That incident broke the brainwashing that a certain geneticist we both hate did to me before the fall of Overwatch. I was planning on quietly cutting ties with Talon but was sent on this mission before I could. However, I don't know what lead to that decision, either Talon suspects the break in conditioning, or a friend of mine is repaying me for not snitching on her."

"Would this friend happen to be a snarky hacker?" Al asked watching the man he knows as Reaper. He suspected he knew the answer to a few of his questions, but thought best not to ask outright just yet.

Gabriel looked at him, "The name Sombra ring a bell?"

Al chuckled, "She was the one that contacted me about the threat, and told me that she would be sending someone to guard us. Sounds like she noticed the change in you as well." He glanced down the hall, "If you were once friends with her...you should tell her who you really are."

"I was a bit more than friends with her, Sir. Angela and I dated for over a year and up until Moira got her claws in me, I was intending to ask her to marry me." Gabriel said softly. Even as Reaper he still carried the ring he bought for her, though at the time he could never understand why he couldn't bring himself to throw it away.

Al smiled, so one of his suspicions were correct, "You're her Gabriel. But how are you here? She said you died in the explosion that took the Overwatch HQ in Switzerland..."

"That is a long story...but short version is Moira using me for some of her experiments, while brainwashing me, once the *puta* flipped the switch I went after my best friend and she with Talon made the base explode around us. Angela found me and tried to resurrect me but it reacted badly with what Moira did and from Angela's point of view...I disappeared...really one of my abilities activated and I essentially ran from the area. Some of what happened after is blurry, but I know Moira made me believe that the reason for my current condition, of being neither fully alive nor completely dead, was entirely Angela's fault along with the rest of Overwatch."

"But now the conditioning is broken, you know the truth..."

Gabriel nodded, watching the man, "I do and I will not let it happen again."

Al nods, "You should tell Angela soon. Your 'death' hurt her very badly....and it is still affecting her though she does her best to hide it. While she might have considered Overwatch her family, you were her world."

Gabriel sighs, "I will...I just have to find the right time to tell her."

Al chuckles, "Good luck on that one, but I would try to do it before she finds out herself, you know how perceptive she can be."

They both stop talking when they hear Angela come out of the bathroom. Gabriel watches as Angela limps out to the kitchen and pulls two ice packs out of the freezer before limping back down the hall. He had to remind himself that she didn't know him, the urge to go help her to bed was so strong. He gave a nod to Al before getting up and heading to his room, as he passed he glanced in to see Angela settling onto her bed, putting one ice pack under her knee. He closed the door to the room and sighed, listening to Angela curse and hiss in pain as she worked at getting comfortable before she started talking to 'Jarvis?'. He listened as she started talking in German, again he heard his name and a reference to guns. Gabriel would bet Talon's fortune that she was working on a project, but what he could only guess. 

"Holy....Scheisse! How the hell....did he handle one of these things let alone two!?" Angela practically shouted in surprise when her VR simulated the weight of Gabriel's guns through the controllers. "These aren't shotguns...these are hand cannons...." She muttered before switching back to German and ordered Jarvis to bring up the targets once she got used to the weight of the gun. It felt odd to be holding her love's gun, even virtually. She had seen him wield it so effortlessly, that it was a great surprise when Jarvis calibrated the VR controller to match the gun's weight. She lifted the controller to aim at the first target and squeezed off a round. While her VR was older, it was equipped to act like what it was programed, so if the parameters were set up for a gun, a pull of the trigger would cause it to jerk like whatever gun it was set for. She was expecting a huge recoil from the cannon, but it was not as much, more than her blaster to be sure, but manageable. Firing off a few clips, some at stationary targets others at moving ones, had her grinning. Some slight modifications she could use this. 

Studying the data for the modification, she only paused long enough to swap out her ice packs and have a quick talk with her dad. As she worked, she put on a playlist of hers to keep her mind focused, and slowly zoned everything out except what was on her VR screen. Her mind registered a familiar gentle touch carefully raising her knee and slipping an fresh icepack under it and laying a second over top, dulling the ache that was just beginning to intrude on her focus. "*Danke*, Gabe." She said softly without really thinking about it as her mind refocused and chased a possible problem with one of the modifications.

Gabriel nearly jumped out of his skin when she thanked him by name but realized with an ache that she probably didn't even realize what she was saying. He slipped out of the room, making a mental note to check on her later. Slipping outside he did another walk around the block, careful not to fall into any pattern in case the place was actually being cased, but so far he still hadn't found anything. He was starting to wonder if they had word that he was coming and decided it was too risky. 

Not wanting to be away for too long he headed back to the house just as it was getting dark. Peeking in to Angela's room he saw she was still hard at work with her project, though she had moved the ice packs off her knee and had it wrapped in what looked to be a heat pad instead. Deciding to leave her be for the time being he went to talk with Al about what exactly he had been dealing with as far as the threat. It hadn't been much at first, but things quickly progressed into dangerous territory. Al had admitted to him that the only reason he felt that the two of them were still here was thanks to Angela noticing something being off. When their computers had been almost hacked is when he had talked with Sombra.

"Angela was completely against involving Talon at all, but I have little choice with them right now."

"Sombra, while she's a little shit at times, is one of the few I trust. Talon, contrary to what they believe, doesn't have the hold on her they think they do. I'll get in contact with her to see if anything has come up on her end." Gabriel replied softly. His suspicions that Sombra had sent him were even more firm now then they were yesterday, but he doubted that the threat to the family was faked by her, it just wasn't her style.

A few days passed and Gabriel found himself falling into the family's routine as he kept an eye out. A few days after his arrival he finally caught sight of an odd car slowly driving by the house late one evening as he was coming back from one of his patrols. Unfortunately, the car sped off before he could see who was in it or what the plate numbers were.

Note:

Guten Morgen = Good Morning

Ja = Yes

Nein, Gott sei Dank = No, Thank God

Bitte = Please

Schlampe = Slut

Danke = Thanks/thank you

puta = Bitch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whelp, there is the second chapter and boy I was not expecting it to be almost double the first. Sorry if this one is a little dry, I'm going to try and move the story along and work on a bit of backstory to some of the events, like how Angela's father is still alive. Sorry if I missed correcting any errors when editing! Hope you all enjoy ^_^
> 
> Also just for clarity sake so I don't have to really detail this in the story itself I'm making Gabriel 45 in this story just so they're a bit closer in age.


	3. Revelations

Gabriel sighed as he got out of bed to get ready for the day. He was still trying to figure out a good way to tell Angela who he really was, but it had been difficult. She was still very distant from him, but understandably so given she only knew him as the Reaper. Speaking of the blond doctor, he could hear her tapping away on her computer in the next room and wondered if she had slept at all last night. An idea started to form in his head as he left and glanced into Angela's open bedroom door, looking like she wasn't entirely awake as her fingers moved at lightening speed on her keyboard. No coffee cup, good, his peace offering just might work then. Going into the kitchen he gave a soft greeting to Al and started to prep Angela some coffee. A healthy dose of dark roast with an unhealthy amount of cream and sugar. He never could understand how she could tolerate coffee that sweet. He grinned behind his mask (the cloth one not the full mask), and added a touch of swiss chocolate syrup Al mentioned was in the back of the cupboard. Mixing everything together he carried the ultra sweet coffee to Angela's room.

Angela was working on the programming for her new Valkyrie suit, her tired eyes trying to focus on the screen. She was only able to doze for an hour last night before being unable to sleep any longer, mostly due to the continued pain in her knee. She knew her sleep deprivation was getting bad, but there wasn't much she could do. The only time she'd ever really been able to sleep longer than a few hours at a time since she was a child was when she was with Gabriel. He always made sure she got as much sleep as possible. She missed curling up in his warm, strong arms, they made her feel safe, made it easy to ignore the outside world. God what she would give to have him back.

A light knock on the door startled her out of her drifting thoughts. Looking up she was surprised to see Reaper standing respectfully on the other side of the threshold holding a mug in one hand. The scent of coffee greeted her nose and made her mouth water. "Come in, Reaper..." She said softly. She was still weary about the Talon assassin, but her guard was starting to come down around the quiet man who seemed to be far from the violent, ruthless man the reports made him out to be. Something about him seemed so achingly familiar, but when her heart touched on the possibility her mind was quick to dismiss it. He was dead, she had failed to bring him back and had watched him disappear into smoke. She watched the man before her set the mug of coffee down on her desk right where she can reach it easily. She gives him a soft smile, "Peace offering?" She inquires as she picks up the mug and takes a sip. Her eyes widen a bit, it was perfectly made just how she liked it, she even tasted a hint of the Swiss chocolate Gabriel had gotten for her so long ago that she had been hording like Winston horded peanut butter.

"Peace offering. I'm not going to harm you, Mercy, and I want to apologize for the attack from before. Some things have...come to light since that has changed my views."

Angela sips the coffee and looks at him, her heart once more trying to convince her mind of something that is impossible. His voice though gave her pause. While it sounded like he gargled rocks the tone and cadence of it made her memory spark and her heart ache. "Thank you, Reaper. I hope your change in views leads you to a path of peace instead of violence...though lord knows sometimes its unavoidable." She said softly, slowly drinking the coffee to savor it, her mind rushing to figure out just how this relative stranger knew just how she liked her coffee.

"So what has the doc up so early?" Gabriel asked curiously. He had a pretty good idea of why, likely her knee was bothering her. She hated pain medication as much as he did, and often refused to take it even when it would help. He could see she was a bit more pale than normal and there was tension around her eyes, both easy to miss if you didn't know her.

"I'm always up early." Angela replied cheekily, testing the waters to see if Reaper had a sense of humor.

Gabriel let out an amused chuckle, "Smart-ass, you know what I meant."

Angela grinned at his reply, taking a bigger gulp of coffee. Taking a leap of faith, she decided to reply honestly, "My knee was aching last night, kept me up except for an hour that I was able to doze off."

"Would you mind if I try something to help? It would interrupt what you are working on." Gabriel asked softly.

Angela searched his strange eyes and nodded when she saw genuine concern and something heartbreakingly familiar. A look that finally broke through her mind's denial, could this really be Gabriel? She couldn't understand why he didn't say anything, why he hadn't revealed himself to her yet, but maybe she could coax the truth out of him. However, just in case her heart and sleep deprivation were really screwing with her mind, she locked her computer so what she was working on wouldn't show on the screen before pushing the desk out of the way so he could sit by her feet.

Gabriel carefully maneuvered her leg into his lap, keeping his movement slow. He carefully started to massage Angela's bad knee the way he remembered that it helped her before, grinning behind the cloth around his lower face when she let out a content moan as the muscles started to relax. "How did you injure it?" He asked, glancing at her as he worked the joint carefully.

"This time, the second time, or the very first time?" She asked back. 

"Any of it." Gabriel replied as he started to work the back of her knee, gentling his movements even more when he felt her flinch at one spot. Yup, she had sprained it alright, and bad from the feel.

"First time was the night of the Omnic attack on my first home...I was 6 or 7 at the time...it had snowed and when my mother sent me running for the woods to hide a blast hit next to me. I tried..catching myself but I think I landed wrong. I didn't feel any pain at the time...too much addrenalin...but the first time it dislocated on me I screamed. It took almost 10 years to get a doctor to listen that something was wrong with it. When one finally did, he was amazed that I was still walking...my ACL, or Anterior Cruciate Ligament, the ligament that helps hold the knee, was almost completely gone. He told me that if it had dislocated one more time it would have been done. He was able to repair it, but thought I would always have problems with it. I mostly proved him wrong and was able to do what I wanted. The second time I was protecting someone I cared deeply for from a Null Sector drone...one of the bullets got lodged into the space between my tibia and fibia, and almost shattered my kneecap. I was so focused on getting him out alive I didn't even realize how much it hurt until later after we managed to get back to where the extraction point was just as the EVAC was leaving. This time...wasn't so intense....just tripped down the stairs and landed wrong..."

Gabriel kept working silently as he listened to her. He remembered the second incident. It was the first time she took a bullet for him and scared the shit out of him at the same time. It was also the first time he became truly pissed at Jack for nearly leaving them behind, one of the first moments where things began to go sour between them. 

****Flashback****

Gabriel hit the ground hard, the bite of the bullet in his side burned like hellfire. Groaning he set up but had to stop when he caught a flash of white and gold and had a petite medic standing over him, a warm wash of gold healing from her staff pouring over him while her blaster was firing in the other. Bullets were flying around them and at one point in those few seconds after she landed he felt her stumble, her leg knocking into his head a bit, and thought he heard her hiss, but it could have been the bullet that narrowly missed his head.

"Commander, we need to go! EVAC is at the point." He heard Angela shout over the gunfire. Leaping to his feet as he felt the golden warmth switch to a cool, invigorating blue, "Roger, lets get the fuck out of here, Mercy." He took off towards the extraction point, trusting her to follow like always. Vaguely he noticed the odd way she was leapfrogging to him with her wing-suit and boost leash, but was too focused on clearing them a path.

A horrifying sight greeted them when they finally made it to where they were to be extracted. The drop-jet was already in the air and heading off with out them.

He heard Mercy curse in German and the blue beam left him and latched onto Jack as he stood at the edge of the door, laying down cover fire. He then felt Mercy's arms wrap around him and her shout to hold onto her and pray. Instinctively he listened to his girlfriend, she had never steered him wrong before. Then there was a flair of gold and red light and they were launched in the air, following the path of the boost leash. Her wing-suit on a power overload to rocket the two of them to the safety of the ship.

They landed hard, very hard, and after helping Angela up he turned to Morrison. Fury pounding against his head at the bastard that nearly left them behind. He had just started tearing into the man when something made him look to Angela. A terrible feeling sunk its fangs into his innards, the need to look to her. What he saw burned into his mind. Her eyes rolling back and body starting to go limp, her left leg from the knee down drenched in her blood, the wind starting to catch her still flared wings as she fell towards the edge of the transport. Bolting into action he rushed to her and caught her just as she started to fall away from the edge, his heart feeling like it was going to beat out of his chest and a cold sweat covered him. 

He pulled her limp body into his arms and held her tight, ashamed of himself for not noticing she had been hurt, and utterly terrified that he had nearly lost the one soul he truly trusted, his sweet, gentle medic. Carrying her over to the bench he growled that this was not over to Morrison as he passed. He thanked Ana when she came over with a med kit and a few of her healing darts. He held Angela carefully as Ana tried to get the bleeding to stop. He watched, nearly sick to his stomach as the old medic used some tweezers to remove a bullet from Angela's knee. He knew then when she was shot, and that her positioning over him was done on purpose, saving his life. He held her tighter and buried his face in her shoulder, "I'm supposed to be the crazy one...not you..." He murmured softly.

Ana looked at him and glanced at Jack, giving him a look that told him he was in some deep trouble with her later on. "I'm sorry, Gabriel. Jack never said anything about you two not being on board when he ordered the take off."

Gabriel just nodded to Ana, his focus still on the angel in his arms. He frowned when he saw her bandaged knee starting to soak with blood, "Why aren't the nanobiotics working?"

Ana frowned as she removed the bandage, "I'm not sure...We'll have to take a closer look when we get back..." She re-bandaged the knee tighter, earning a weak whimper from Angela.

Gabriel carried Angela to the medical wing and refused to leave her side, even going against Jack's orders to come for a debriefing with the higher-ups. Fuck them, he was going to be here when Angela woke up.

****End Flashback****

If it wasn't for Angela's wing suit and her managing to carry both of them as she latched on to Jack with her staff and fly them up they would have been in serious trouble. It had taken her weeks to fully recover, even with the use of her nanotech, there was only so much they could do with old wounds, and while the injury was fairly fresh, it wasn't registering as such and confused the little bots. He helped her as much as he could between missions, since it seemed no one else could or would. He hated that Jack had refused to give him time off so he could help Angela recover, another point in the start of the tension between them.

"I've popped it a few times between the second and this time...but...this time just hurt worse. How did you learn to massage like this?" Angela asked as she relaxed further into the pillows, hoping that if he was really Gabriel that he would answer her honestly.

"You taught me...." Gabriel replied softly, looking up at Angela, praying she wouldn't hate him.

Angela searched his eyes, "There was only one person who I taught how to do this...but I watched him die and vanish into smoke when I tried to revive him. If...If you're not him..." She trailed off, her throat closing as a fresh wave of despair washed over her at the thought she could be wrong, that the result of her lack of sleep tricking her at the worst possible time.

Gabriel pulls the cloth covering the horribly scared lower part of his face, "Yes...its me, Ange…" He replied softly, watching as she covered her mouth with her hands as a sob rose in her throat and tears started to spill down her cheeks. God he hated seeing her cry.

"Gabriel...how..." She choked out, there was no denial in her mind now, even with the changes, now that his mask was down and she was able to fully see his face there was no denying it was the one who always held her heart.

Gabriel sighed and started to tell her about Moira, the brainwashing and control, everything. "When you pelted me with your little pee-shooter is when something broke in the conditioning. After the memories came back I started to plan my escape from Talon, but then was strangely assigned to guard your father. I've been trying to find a way to tell you ever since I realized it was you."

"When...when did you recognize me?" She asked softly, still trying to process everything he told her.

"The first day, but not until you called back to your dad in the forest…knew you by your voice….you had been silent up until then." He replied softly. He winced when Angela pulled her leg from his grasp, thinking she was going to leave, that she was going to reject him. However, he soon found himself with a lap full of beautiful blond. His arms instantly came around her as she threaded her arms around his neck. God he missed this, missed her being in his arms.

Angela sunk into his arms, nuzzling her face into his neck, trying to bury herself in the feel of him. She never dreamed that she would ever be able to be in his arms again. After listening to his story, so many things about the time before the fight and during made sense now. How after a series of missions his whole attitude started to change and he became very distant. She had been so consumed with her resurrection project that while she had noticed the odd behavior, she believed it to be stress. How wrong she was, maybe if she had figured it out "Liebling...I missed you so much...it felt like part of me died with you…"

Gabriel held her tighter, nuzzling his face into her hair and breathing her in. He felt a familiar peace settle over him as he soaked in her warmth and weight, "I've missed you too, mi amor. I'm so sorry for what happened...I wish....I would have realized what was going on...what she was doing...maybe things could have been different."

Angela shakes her head, "If I hadn't been so caught up in Project Rez, I would have realized something was wrong...I thought you were just under a lot of stress...If I had paid more attention...." Her rambling was stopped by him kissing her softly.

He kissed her slowly, relishing the feel of her lips after so long, "No, cariño...don't blame yourself...that project was important to everyone...and you succeeded, It would have worked perfectly with me if Moira hadn't been toying with me beforehand..."

Angela kissed him again. It was different then when they were together due to the changes in his body, but far from unpleasant. She could still feel the warmth of his love even if his skin was cooler than it should be. "Ich liebe dich." She murmured softly as she pulled back.

"Yo también te quiero, cariño." Gabriel murmured against her neck as he peppered her skin with kisses. For the first time in ages, his mind, his soul, was at peace, and he knew that it was because of the angel curled up against him. He feels her relax further into his arms as he gently strokes her back, and by the feel of her breathing he could tell that she was drifting off to some much needed sleep. Carefully shifting her to a more comfortable position, he lays back on her bed and pulls a throw over her as she slept on his chest. As much as she used to nag about healthy habits, she still does a piss poor job of following her own advise, especially about sleep. At least now that she knows just who he is, he can start making sure she gets to sleep at a somewhat reasonable hour and not the maybe 3 hours he knows she's been getting since he arrived.

Note: 

mi amor = my love

cariño = Baby

Ich liebe dich = I love you

Yo también te quiero, cariño = I love you too, Baby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah....I don't think I can do nice short chapters since this one turned out to be only slightly shorter than the second one. Hope you all are enjoying this fic and enjoyed the fluff at the end. Just a heads up that it could be a few days before the next chapter is out, because life and figuring out how I want the story to progress.


	4. Catching up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel and Angela spend a little time catching up

Angela slowly swam back to consciousness, trying to hold on to the best dream she had in a very long time. Gabriel had come back to her, changed, but no doubt it was him. Being in his arms again had felt like heaven, she could still feel the weight of them linger as she woke up from the best sleep she's had since the last time her and Gabriel were together. When calloused fingers skimmed lightly up the back of her neck, and carded through her hair, her eyes snapped open. Her arctic blue gaze met warm red amber and her mind caught up that what she thought was a dream was actually a reality. She smiles contently at him, "Glad this wasn't a dream...how long have I been asleep?"

Gabriel glanced at the clock, "About 3 hours... Its nearly 9 AM." He replied softly, smiling down at her, his hand following the line of her back.

Angela groaned, "That means I have to go to work soon, and I am way too comfortable to want to move, should call in today." She grumbled and nuzzled her face into his neck. She smiled as she inhaled his scent, her mind noting the difference from before he was turned into a wraith, the smell of decay, but strangely it wasn't human decay. It was like a forest in winter, decaying leaves and wood, earthy, one that she could huff all day.

"I think that's the first time I've ever heard you say that, normally I would have to beg and plead for you to take a day off." He murmured in her ear and kissed her temple.

Angela giggled softly, "True...but I loved my job then...not so much now."

Gabriel hugged her closer at the sad tone she ended with. He had read up on what happened. Somehow, Moira managed to convince everyone that all of Angela's accomplishments were actually hers and that Angela had essentially stolen everything and had gone so far as to frame Moira for unethical practices to disgrace her. Every country that she was licensed to practice in had, one by one, revoked that license, some even banned her from ever stepping foot on their soil. The UN had done nothing, and the scattered Overwatch members had been silent. Her life's work had been ripped from her and she was forced out of a career she loved and was amazing in. How anyone could believe she stole Moira's research and claimed it as her own was beyond him, but people were fucking idiots. He felt her sigh into his neck and watched as she slowly sat up, resisting the urge to pull her back down into his arms. "Moira will pay for what she did." He grumbled softly, trying to focus on the thought of ripping the eccentric genetist's soul out in the most painful way possible instead of the heat of the blond bombshell currently straddling him. He lost that battle and felt himself harden near instantly when she replied.

"Just make sure to leave some for me. I have a few...bones to pick with her." Angela all but growled. She might be peace loving by nature, but Moira had hurt Gabriel in a multitude of ways, and that was her breaking point. You could mess with her and she wouldn't retaliate, but fuck with her family... Angela's dark thoughts stopped when she felt something familiar under her and locked eyes with Gabriel. A wicked grin graced her mouth as she subtly wiggled in his lap earning her a groan she never thought she would hear again.

"Witch..."

Angela's laugh echoed through her room and through the house, the first real laugh she had in ages. "You know, Gabriel, I still have that witch costume you made for me." She said as she leaned down and kissed him deeply.

Gabriel groaned at the images that brought to his mind, "Gonna have to make you an imp costume next...or better yet a devil." It was so good to hear her laugh, but having her wiggle on him like she is was pure torture. 

They were soon interrupted by the alarm on her phone going off, one that she set to alert her to get ready for work. Angela sighs, "If I didn't have so much shit to do today...."

Gabriel sits up and kisses her, "I know, *Carino*. I wish I could go down with you, even if only to keep you company." Now that he had her back in his arms, he really had no desire to let her go. All he really wanted to do was tear off all her clothes and make up for a lot of lost time.

Angela, unknowingly, was thinking the same thing, however, her sense of responsibility was winning. "Maybe tonight, *Liebling*. I really do have a lot to do today, but I should be able to get it done fairly quickly and be able to get off early."

Gabriel watched as she got up and started gathering her clothes, "Hey Ange...I've been meaning to ask...I thought both your parents were killed during the Omnic war..."

"My mother was...and I thought my father was too. During the attack he took a bad blow to the head and developed amnesia and forgot everything up until several years ago. It took a while for him to finally make contact with me due to moving around so much. Then after everything that happened, I moved to be closer to him here in the states, and when he had his heart issue last year I moved in with him to keep an eye on him." Angela told him as she got dressed for work.

"I'm glad you found each other, and that he seems to be doing well." He replied as he watched her. He was happy that, despite everything, she was still comfortable around him. Getting up and following her out to the main area he kissed her goodbye and watched her jump into her car and pull out to head down to her work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short little fluff chapter. Enjoy!


End file.
